


Take me higher!

by Soupreme



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Dating, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Helicopters are amazing zura!, Insecurity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:35:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27363616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soupreme/pseuds/Soupreme
Summary: Hanamaru desperately wants to be friends with Mari, so much so she's willing to put her fear of heights on the line to do so when she's invited up in her helicopter for a ride! Little did she know what she would take away from her adventure other than beautiful scenery...
Relationships: Kunikida Hanamaru/Ohara Mari
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	Take me higher!

Hanamaru stood at the grand entrance to the Ohara Hotel. It’s sheer scale and size compared to what she was used to never ceased to amaze, even if she had been here before. Even seeing it in passing on her way to school, it felt like it was a realm out of her own, like she would be sucked into an alternate universe of fine etiquette if she strayed too close.

But she had to. The one and only Mari Ohara waited for her on the other side of those doors, frosted with an intricate ‘O’ on the pane of glass.

Her and Mari weren’t insanely close. After all, they shared no classes with each other and really only spent time occasionally chatting about Aqours related things during practice. However, after their exercise in getting more acquainted with the third years but a few weeks ago, the life and times of Mari specifically infatuated the timid country girl. She was very simple, and Mari an intricate puzzle.

She didn’t think about her ALL of the time, just… More often than not. She was someone she desperately wanted to be friends with, at least that’s what she told herself, often itching just to get to talk to her after Aqours practice most days, often finding silly excuses like asking her about her vocals or offering a water bottle, just to get the chance to spark up a conversation. The first couple of times she fell completely silent and turned into a nervous wreck, but she was getting better! 

The culmination of all of the intrigue and emotions brought her here, nervously smoothing her yellow summer dress out and waiting for her host to come down and greet her. It was the best she could do with her limited wardrobe, and she had made sure to make herself as high class as she could be, not wanting to miss this second chance at a first impression. 

Fancying her hair into a high ponytail coupled with the fanciest dress she could find in her closet would do just that, as well as serve as an attempt to fit in with the throngs of high society guests who might be looking on inside.   
  
Last time she wore overalls. Never again.   
  
“Greetings, Hanamaru! My, don’t you just look extra sunshiny today?” Mari’s words interrupted her paranoia-driven thought process on how she looked, poking her head out through the hotel lobby doors.   
  
“Oh gosh Mari, h-hello!” She stammered, trying to keep a level head. A hard task when the outfit she was wearing must have tripled her own in price and style. The yellow skirt and blue blouse she were rocking were clearly designer, probably even custom. She was drop dead gorgeous.

“You look good as well. We even kind of match zura!”” Hanamaru complimented in return. She didn’t even have her hair loop in today, something she had only ever seen her omit from her wardrobe in live shows. Was today really that special?   
  


“We both dress to impress, Hanamaru my darling. Just wait till the helicopter pilot sees us. His jaw will hit the floor at our shine, just you watch.”

Mari’s words reminded her as to why she had been invited here in the first place. A helicopter ride over Numazu in Mari’s helicopter. When talking about how they were going to arrive at their next live show, Mari’s helicopter had been brought up in passing, and when Hanamaru had said she’d never even seen a helicopter in real life, Mari wasted no time offering her a spin in her state of the art flying machine, as she put it.

Hanamaru, floored by her offer having never been alone with the blonde even once, gladly accepted, not realizing at the time she would have to step foot IN the helicopter. Her fear of heights ran track meets in her mind, even now, but she had to do this. Mari had invited her and only her, so it was clearly special. Letting her down was not an option!

The girls idley chatted, as the elevator took them to the roof. The Ohara’s signature pink helicopter already had its blades spinning, its pilot waving at them clearly ready and willing to take off. Mari clasped their hands together and smiled as she led Hanamaru towards the helipad, going over the dos and don'ts of helicopter safety in rather short order. Hanamaru’s trepidation only worsened the closer they got. Watching the blades spin coupled with the sounds roaring louder with each step was more unnerving than she had thought. 

“Mari, I don’t know if I can do this. I’ve never really been super comfortable with heights!” She exclaimed over the roar of the helicopter blades, her voice cracking as she spoke. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to not get on this spinning death trap, and yet Mari was smiling at her carelessly, her hands softly gripping onto her own as she reassuringly patted her on the shoulder

“Don’t worry, you can hold onto me the whole ride! It’s breathtaking when you see it for the first time, I promise! You just have to trust me!” 

Mari’s words were laced with confidence, and the way she stared into Hanamaru’s eyes with confidence and compassion she had only ever experienced from loved ones, it quelled her. Not a twinkle of doubt was in those sparkling emerald eyes. It was only a few words, but Hanamaru was a thinker. Mari must have flown dozens of times before, and her conviction with which she spoke encouragement, quelled her

She stepped in, reservedly so, letting Mari guide her delicately to the seat next to her and handing her a headset to put on. It was bulky and heavy, but Mari assured it was necessary for them to speak. When she slipped them over her ears, almost all sounds were isolated entirely. All except Mari’s calm voice speaking overtop of the faint chopping that could still be heard above.

“See? Much better right? Now grab on tight and take a few deep breaths, it’s takeoff time!” Mari pointed excitedly as she spoke, signalling the pilot to begin the ascent upwards. No one had to tell her twice, Hanamaru buckled her waist seatbelt as tight as she could manage. Her grip around Mari’s waist was as tight as a vice.

“What’s with this pressure in m-my ears, zura?” Hanamaru said shakily. Was this some crucial detail Mari had forgotten to tell her about safety measures? Were her headphones on wrong? Was she going to explode?! And then  **POP** . Suddenly the pressure was gone.

“Oh that’s just your body acclimating to the heights. I bet you feel better now, right? Mine just popped.” Mari giggled, and hugged her timid crewmate in return, brushing her head with her hand. Hanamaru never answered, just buried herself further into Mari’s chest, still not confident her ears building up all of this pressure wasn’t going to be the death of her.   
  


“We’ve reached the peak of our ascent now Hanamaru! Come on and look out!” 

  
“Nope! Just tell me when we land zura, I can’t do it!” Hanamaru timidly said into her microphone, nuzzling herself deeper. “You’re braver than me, you are my eyes from now on!” 

“Oh stop, I know my perfume smells nice but trust me, the view is so much nicer! Look, you can even see your grandma’s temple from here!”

“W-wait? Really…?” The intrigue got to her. Putting her inhibitions aside she pried her head slowly upwards. Greeting her was the bountiful sightseeing Mari had promised her, causing an audible gasp to escape her lips. Her mind could barely comprehend how pretty it all looked, not knowing what to focus her two eyes on first as the landmarks of her hometown slowly passed them by while they cruised over Uchiura Bay.

“Oh my gosh! Is that really Izu Mito Marine Paradise down there?!” She exclaimed, leaning her head overtop of Mari to get a better view. “It looks so tiny! All the people look like ants!”

“Crazy cool huh? Look there’s Chika’s inn as well, and the infernal steps up the shrine as well way over there!” Mari said, giggling as she reminisced about all of the spots she recognized.

Hanamaru leaned over to the other window now, pressing her hands up against the glass like an eager child. “You’re right! That’s amazin’, zura! Those stairs were a nightmare to climb! And mount Fuji… Wow! ictures of it in the books really can’t do it justice! It looks mesmerizing, the whole town does! This is the flight you make to school every day?”

“Well not every day, but most days. I guess I'm just used to it at this point. The shiny tends to wear off after a while, but it really takes your breath away at first glance, right?”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself zura!” Hanamaru excitedly said before turning her attention back to the window. “Oh look there’s the boardwalk! There is this one place that sells grilled eel with rice that is to die for!”

She began rattling off facts about most of the buildings she saw. That she had read about their infrastructure in a book once or simply asked if she had been there, and if not, described the history of the location in copious detail.

Mari smiled internally and externally, watching and listening while Hanamaru gushed about the historical facts behind the creation and location of the very hotel they were just at. Mentally, she was giving herself a high five well done. Gone was the reserved shell of Hanamaru. Seeing her genuine excitement about this mundane part of her everyday life, it was worth every penny in helicopter fuel it cost her.

After touching down when their lengthy ride had concluded around 45 minutes later, Hanamaru wasted no time hopping out of the helicopter and embracing Mari properly this time, not out of necessity.    
  
“Thank you oh thank you Mari, you couldn’t have been more right! Please take me up there again someday. I promise I'll be far braver, and make sure I bring a camera so I can save some of them forever on my wall zura!”

“Of course! I knew it would just take a little push, no one is invincible their first time around. Anytime you want to fly high just let me know, and we’ll make a date of it!” Mari said, clapping her hands for Hanamaru’s new found sense of wonder. “Who knows, maybe we could fly even further next time and have a little spa day, sound buono?”

“Absolutely!” Hanamaru exclaimed as joyously as she could. Her imagination was running wild as the pair made their way back through the lobby, already spinning ideas around in her head for where they could go, the things the two of them could see, with the power of seemingly limitless flight.

“Super! How about we get some lunch or something before we bring you home, I'm extremely affamatta after such a long day and could really use something… Sweet! To  _ sweeten  _ the occasion, of course~.” Mari propositioned, her words silky smooth as she motioned out the doors, revealing a custom purple limousine, presumably hers, parked outside with the doors open, inviting the two in. Mari had everything lined up so well, it was uncanny. 

“You had me at lunch zura.”

\---   
  


A jovial Hanamaru pushed open the heavy door to her temple home, twirling her way inside and kicking off her shoes haplessly in the process. “Grandma, I’m home!” She yelled into the halls, eliciting a muffled greeting from in the kitchen. She hurried to the confines of her room where she could be alone with her thoughts. She had a lot to unpack off her mind from such an action-packed day. 

Quickly she jumped onto her bed after shutting her door, grabbed a leather notebook from her nightstand, and eagerly began writing down her thoughts and ideas into it. This wasn’t just any old journal however, it was her de facto diary, and she needed every crucial detail to be archived in it from today, right down to the wind speed. 

One page was how much she normally used in a day, but one rapidly turned to two, turned to 5. Before long twenty minutes passed and she was still writing, losing herself in describing the sights and smells with exceptional detail. Especially when it was related to Mari.

She saw no problem with this, Mari was the one after all who had opened a pandora’s box of wonder to her very eyes. But the more she thought about how fun their trip was, the more she thought of Mari in turn. Her smile, the way she smelled, her encouraging words to keep her calm when she was having doubts. If it had been Yoshiko or Dia or Kanan, she couldn’t imagine them showing her similar compassion, which made Mari all the more… special. 

This feeling wouldn’t go away. She just wanted her as a companion right? A friend on the same level as Yoshiko to pal around with, maybe go on some crazy adventures like they had today. So then why couldn’t she stop visualizing her holding her hand atop that roof...

Laying there on her bed. She realized she was in love.

“I’m in love… I’m in love!” She said aloud to herself, bouncing giddily up and down on her bed. This feeling was one she thought only existed in novels and on TV, but here she was captivated by someone just like her grandma told her someday she would be!

Having this revelation fresh in her mind, two words now stuck in her mind from earlier. “A date.” That’s right! Mari had said they would have to plan their next date! Maybe, just maybe, if she could be the one to spark some crazy adventurous idea as Mari had done, then Mari would have no choice but to like or even love, her on the same level.

Tearing a page out of her notepad she frantically began storming ideas down on paper, along with a few doodles of the two of them holding hands when her mind wandered occasionally. Realistic ideas, ones she wanted desperately for the two of them to do, but just daring enough to catch Mari’s eyes. The last thing she would want to do is come off as boring.

“She’s going to be so excited when I tell her about all of these amazing ideas! Tomorrow can’t come soon enough!”

\----

Mari headed towards the library as the bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. Despite them leaving on good, some would say ‘shiny’ terms, Mari hadn’t seen Hanamaru all day. It wasn’t like she was avoiding her, but knowing all too well how good the little brunette was at staying out of sight when she wanted to, Mari figured it best to search her out.

“I hope it wasn’t something I did… Maybe taking someone up in a helicopter is a little forward for a ‘let us get to know each other’ hangout…”

Mari brushed the door gently open, alarmed to find exactly the girl she was looking for forlorn on the library desk. Crumpled papers littered the floor around her, as did several empty drinks, implying she had been toiling away at something for an extended period of time. Reaching out, Mari tapped her on the head.

“Uhm Hanamaru? Are you okay? I haven’t seen you all day, have you just been sitting here?”

No answer, so Mari walked around diligently ushered her awake. She rose after a couple gentle nudges of her shoulders, groggy to say the least. Bags had formed under her eyes, appearing to have gotten little sleep. Her eyes were red, and glossy as if about to cry at any second. 

“Hanamaru what happened?!” Mari exclaimed, “You didn’t sleep here all day did you?”

“N-no I….” She trailed off, fighting back her emotions. “I must have just dozed off during the last period. Sorting books can be so boring, you know…”

Mari wasn’t convinced. None of what she was saying seemed genuine, and it seemed like there was an untold disappointment looming over her like a storm cloud. Detective Mari would have to pry deeper, for both of their sakes.   
  
“What’s with all the papers then? Are you writing something for class and it isn’t coming out properly? I’m no word artisan but I can help you if you’d like-”

“No, it’s fine! Just don’t worry about it! Here, we can walk out of the school together and everything. Let me just grab my bag and we can leave.”

Hanamaru was quick to deflect, grabbing her bag and hustling around the desk. What was this girl hiding? She brushed by, accidentally dropping a few books out of her bookbag when she made her way past the stagnant Mari.

Hanamaru sank her head in shame, dead stopped in the middle of the hallway. Mari grabbed her books up from the ground, ever the courteous friend. But one of them had fallen wide open as if destiny had willed it to do so, and Mari’s eyes poured over its contents.

“Is this supposed to be… Us?” She questioned, grabbing the book off the floor and turning over a couple of pages. There must have been about twenty or so of them, all containing various ideas, some scratched out, and doodles of the two of them. Their names together in hearts, holding hands, kissing…

Tears began to streak Hanamaru’s cheeks. She had never felt so helpless and awkward. The crush of her dreams was just staring over all of her fantasizing and she couldn’t even speak.  _ “She must think I'm so pathetic.”  _ She thought to herself.  _ “So much for getting her to like me. Not like I had much of a shot anyways…” _ _  
_ _  
_ Mari stood over her, sliding her books back into her bag. Delicately wiping the tears from her cheeks, her arms wrapped her up in a hug. Hanamaru figured this was just Mari trying to make her feel better, so her waterworks didn’t cease. That is, until the soothing words that were next to follow.

“Hanamaru…You’re so special.” Her grip around her junior tightened, and her lips pecked the very top of her head. “You should have just told me.”   
  


Warmth surged through her body, felt doubly so through Mari’s captivating hug. Her heartbeat rapid, and with the two of them pressed so close together, she knew Mari’s was as well. Was this… Could this... Really be happening?   
  


“You don’t have to plan super special events just to impress me, Hanamaru. You impress me every day by just being you.” Mari cooed into her ear. Her breath tickled the top of her head, and Hanamaru could almost feel the blush creeping across her face. 

“B-but Mari... “ Hanamaru stuttered through her subsiding tears. “I had to do something special! You made me feel so invigorated, I just couldn’t settle on some of those ideas. And the ones I did like well…”   
  


Mari patted her head softly as she trailed off. She got it, Hanamaru didn’t have to finish. Some of those ideas, like renting an entire pool for just the two of them, could easily have been done had she just asked Mari. But Hanamaru wanted to do it for herself, to show Mari how much she cared, and that fact alone told Mari all she needed to know about this girl.

“I think you’re overthinking this way too much Hanamaru. I invited you aboard my helicopter not because I wanted to show off to you. Just being around you makes me smile. You are the entertainment, at least in my eyes! And money can’t buy that.” Mari shook the two of them back and forth in their hug, giggling as she did so. Hanamaru started to cry almost yet again, this time however out of her sheer heart-swelling love for the girl embracing her.

  
Just like she had done on their helicopter ride, she had taken all of her convictions and doubts about herself, and thrown them all by the wayside with just a few reassuring words. She had turned a nightmare situation for her into a confrontation of love, and made Hanamaru wonder what she was even so scared of in the first place?

“Oh, and one more thing, if you wanted to hold my hand? All you had to do is ask.” Mari leaned down and planted a kiss right in the middle of her forehead as she entwined their hands together. The redness on her face hit a new shade on the spectrum, and she stuttered to think of words to say in response. Her lips were so plush. Her hands were so soft. Awestruck, she stared back at Mari, the two of them getting lost in the endless expanse of the other’s eyes.

“Thanks, Mari… I l-like you a lot.”   
  
“I like you a whole lot too Hanamaru. Now, what do you really want to do after school today?”

“Well on such short notice, how about we just hang out in the library for a while? I was reading a few books on the aviation of your type of helicopter that I hoped you’d find very interesting!” Hanamaru had to catch herself from getting too excited, but continued on. “A-and then maybe... Parfaits afterward?” 

Mari’s smile and nod echoed everything she had said before. Outstretching her hand, she allowed herself to be led back into the library eagerly by the excited first year. The two of them sat for hours, discussing everything from the make and model of helicopter blades to their dreams for Aqours, and themselves. Losing track of time, getting lost in the other’s company. It all led Hanamaru back to that first day she had laid eyes on Mari on that beach with the other Aqours members. 

She was as breathtaking now as that very moment itself.

**Author's Note:**

> I planned for this to be longer, but figured this was a decent length in the end. Love these two dorks, definitely want to write them until I die <3
> 
> As always thanks for reading! Stay safe out there, any and all comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
